The sound of music returns

SINGSONG . . . Doug Boardman entertains his fellow residents at Chadderton’s St Marks Court, along with PCSO Eileen Dunnion and housing scheme manager Christine Crossfield (left), after the return of his stolen keyboards

Residents’ joy as stolen keyboards are found

ELDERLY residents were heartbroken to be without their uplifting music sessions after a thief stole their instruments.

Two keyboards were taken from the sheltered housing scheme at St Mark’s Court, Chadderton.

But thanks to some swift detective work the complex is alive to the sound of music once again after the culprit was caught and the keyboards returned within just 10 days.

Serial burglar Ashley Bergwin (24), of Kelverlow Street, Clarksfield, pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to breaking into the Milne Street building and had 12 other offences taken into consideration. He was jailed for a year.

His targets included a number of sheltered housing schemes including St Mark’s Court and St Mary’s Court, both owned by Guinness Northern Counties.

CCTV footage from St Mark’s helped officers to quickly identify and arrest Bergwin.

Residents were joined by Police Community Support Officer Eileen Dunnion as they celebrated the return of the keyboards with a traditional sing song.

Happily tinkling the ivories once again was resident Doug Boardman (67), who would have had to shell out almost £3,000 to replace the instruments that were stolen from the communal lounge.

He said: “I felt sick when I heard they’d been stolen. They’re my own keyboards but I kept them in the communal lounge as the other residents like to listen to me playing. We often have bit of sing-a-long on a Saturday night.”

St Mark’s Court manager Christine Crossfield said that residents were delighted to hear the music playing again.

She added: “We were all shocked by the break in and losing the keyboards would have proved a bitter blow. Luckily our cameras were able to help police to catch the culprit. He got a bit more than he bargained for when he broke in here.

“On behalf of all the residents, and particularly Mr Boardman, I’d like to thank Greater Manchester Police for all their help. We couldn’t believe how quickly they caught the burglar and recovered our goods.”